Upcycled Diaper and Wipe Boxes

We made our formal dining room the toy room and with that I wanted to make it a bit more organized for and the boys to find their toys. I didn't want to spend much money on boxes to separate their toys so I just used the boxes that their diapers and wipes came in. It works out great because it teaches the boys what each word looks like helping them distinguish the differences between series of letters together. As you can see, some boxes don't have letters on them. I got lazy. The cutting out and sewing of the letters took more time than I thought they would.

The Cars box was the first one I upcycled. We had some stick on letters that I traced onto paper then cut those out and traced the letters onto the fabric. I sewed the letters onto the star fabric then just hot glued in onto the box. I made each side panel individually so I had 4 to glue on.
The Diapers box I made with pop out letters for scrapbooking. The letters I traced out from the stick on letters were too big for the box.

If I were to go back and do this over I would have chosen fabric with shoes on it, but this was left over fabric I've had just sitting in my closet waiting to be used.

I made Thomas pillow cases and the left over fabric was just enough to cover their train box.

This box took a big more time. I hand stitched each letter. It was more tedious, but I like how it turned out.



We used to put their socks in a basket on top of their dresser. It worked out great until they started pulling the basket down and throwing their socks every which way. I needed a way to solve this problem, but I didn't want to just throw them in their dresser. I needed an easy way to get to their socks as well as a way to put them away so they wouldn't throw them around. I had a Kleenex box that had just been emptied and thought it was big enough to hold their socks and it was. It was already decorative so I didn't feel like I needed to dress it up. I just cut the top part into sections that could be taped down to the inside then put their socks in it. The box fits perfectly in their drawer and makes it easy for me to find their socks when I need them.

Quick and easy "project"

The socks box in the drawer. Perfect fit.

Skinny Jeans from Boot Cut

I have quite a few pairs of jeans. Most of them are boot cut and a bit too long for me. My height puts me in between a petite and regular fit for jeans, so I decided to take a pair of my boot cuts and make them into skinny jeans custom made to me :)

Before: See how long these pants are

Put your pants on inside out and pin the sides to what is most comfortable to you. I pinned up to mid-thigh. These pants were really loose on me.

After: There you go. I just hemmed them to where I wanted and now I have skinny jeans. They were fast and easy to make.

Dr. Seuss inspired elf hat

My sister is expecting twin girls this summer and I really wanted to make something for them so I decided to make these elf hats. They are Dr. Seuss inspired (Thing 1 and Thing 2). I can't wait to see my nieces in these hats and I can't wait to make more things for them.

Maxi Dresses

I've been wanting to make a maxi dress for awhile. I bought fabric for it a few months ago and finally got around to making these dresses. The top is made up of four different panels which resulted in a seam down the middle front and back which I don't really like. Next time I'll just make it using two panels with seams on each side. Other than that I liked how they turned out.  The Gray on Gray was the first one I made. The black and white, obviously, needs to be hemmed, but you kind of get the idea. I didn't love either of these dresses so I gave them one of the young women I work with for my church. She liked them so I hope she gets good use out of them.

Easy skirt

This skirt was so quick and easy to make that I actually made quite a few of them however, this is the only picture I remembered to take and/or keep.

This skirt just has elastic in the back so no buttons or zippers to worry about. The thing that took the longest was cutting out the fabric. Just measure out the back, then the front. Add the elastic to the back piece. Gather the front, sew back and front together and hem. Easy peasy.

Nautical themed baby shower

Another friend of mine was going to have her first baby in October and I wanted to help out with her baby shower. Her mother in law provided the food and I was in charge of games and decorations.

These are just a few of the decorations we had and they were super easy and cheap to make.

This wreath was made with a wreath a $4 wreath mold? ( I know that's not the right word), new born diapers, ribbon, construction paper and a decorative toy. I first attached the diapers and tied off the tops with white ribbon. Then I traced out a circle large enough for the back drop and attached that to the wreath. I printed off a picture of an anchor and glued that on. I took the blue ribbon and just weaved in through the wreath and diapers then added the toy on the bottom.

The diaper cake was so much fun to make. Most diaper cakes are done by rolling each, individual diaper then form each tier. I did not want to do that so I lined up the diapers and fanned them out. It took a bit of practice, but once you get it, you'll be so grateful you didn't roll each diaper up individually. I kept each tier tied up with white ribbon then added the "It's a boy" ribbon on top of the white. Each tier is independent of the others (meaning there is nothing in the center holding them all together). After I add the blue ribbon I put the frame and toys for finishing touches.

Along with these decorations were also two clothes lines with baby clothes and wash cloths (nautical themed) as well as glass baby bottles filled with swedish fish which also served as our anchors for the blue, white and silver balloons. All in all it was a fun baby shower with quick and easy decorations.

BYU cheerleader outift and a beard

A friend of mine was going to be having a baby girl in November 2013 and they are big BYU fans so I started making here a little outfit for the baby shower. The cheerleading outfit is actually the top of one pattern and the bottom of another. The front, obviously, had the "BYU" logo stitched on. This was going to be baby 3 so I made the back like a uniform with their last name and the number 3 stitched on. I also made slippers/booties and a diaper cover with a "Y" stitched on the back and a beanie.

These are obviously not finished, but you can get the idea of what it looked like.

I also tried to make a beard like this

Mine did not turn out that well :(

Newborn booties with matching head band

I can not find the pattern I used for these. Most of the time I just look things up on YouTube however, I do tend to change the pattern a little bit either to make it easier on myself or just see how something else may look.

These were made Fall 2013 for my niece

Mickey Mouse hats

I made these hats for the boys shortly after I realized how much they love Mickey Mouse. They were quick and easy. I made both during nap time, which is usually 2 1/2 hours.

I just followed this lady, who is very easy to follow, and whipped up two beanies for the boys. I didn't add buttons to mine, but they still work.